Riyadh, Aug 19 : The Hajj season started on Sunday with the Day of Tarwiyah, the first ritual of the holy pilgrimage, in Mina, a neighbourhood of the Islamic city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, with 1,966,461 pilgrims.

The General Authority for Statistics announced the figure on Saudi Press Agency, with the total number of pilgrims to be announced on the evening of Arafat Day -- the most important Hajj ritual -- on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

To ensure the safety of pilgrims, a comprehensive security and safety plan has been set up to transport people between ritual sites.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry announced another plan to protect the well-being of pilgrims with the allocations of 25 hospitals and 155 health centres at all sites with a capacity of 5,000 beds, 180 ambulances and 100 vehicles which were converted into ICU mobile units.

 

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.

The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).

"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.

The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.

The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.

Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.

They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.

Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.